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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Is Raw Food Diet Best For My Dog?

The main question on every dog owners mind is what kind of food they should feed their pet. The health of your dog to a large extent depends on the type and quality of food you feed him. Since the market is flooded with so many different types and brands of dog food; the question of whether to feed a dry processed, raw food or what we like best, a combination of both to the dogs obviously comes to one’s mind.

Raw food is considered the best for dogs. It’s the way nature made them to eat. In our pet nutritional store we’ve helped hundreds of owners overcome many health issues by switching to a raw diet. It is also the best for preventing dog allergies from the grain based dry food diets. However, the main reason why people are skeptical to feed raw food to their dogs is the potential risk of the presence of bacteria and pathogens in raw meat. Yes, it is true that raw meat may contain bacteria like Salmonella. But, nature has gifted dogs with strong digestive system. Their stomach has high amounts of acid, and food sits in there stomach much longer than humans which enables them to destroy the bad bacteria’s. If your dog is on antibiotics and/or has a weekend immune system, you should feed lightly cooked meat to him. This will eliminate the possibility of infections due to pathogens and will also provide a required high moisture diet.

Raw and home-cooked dog food has several benefits. They are high in moisture content and are rich of proteins and carbohydrates. They do not contain chemical additives and fillers as is in the case of processed dog food. Most pet natural food stores like ours will sell a variety of frozen raw foods that is meant for pets. Most contain ground bone and organ meat to provide needed nutrients. Cost vary, some local sources can be more economic than canned food.

If you are feeding your dog a raw diet, you should ensure that your dog gets the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients. He should be fed with meat combined with the right source of carbohydrates like oats, barley, and brown rice. Also, you should add some fresh fruits and vegetables to your pet’s diet to provide him the essential minerals and vitamins. Feeding natural supplements to your pet will also ensure his good health. Some of the natural supplements needed are omega 3 from fish or flax oil, a good multivitamin and probiotics. If you are not comfortable feeding raw to your dogs, then you must add an enzyme to their diet. Without enzymes, there own body needs to produce the enzymes to digest there food. This is called “Enzyme Robbing” and over time this puts unnatural strain on their body’s organs and will likely lead to a cancer and/or degenerative type disease.

The diet requirements of no two dogs are the same. The nutritional requirement of your dog depends on their age, activity, weight and health conditions. If you are confused about what and how to feed your dog, you should consult a holistic veterinarian or canine nutritionist. These professionals know all about the diet and health of dogs, and therefore can help you choose the right dog food for your pet. Your local regular veterinarian is usually not trained in nutrition as most people believe.

About the Author

Roger & Kristina McLeskey are owners of a pet boutique and natural food store. They offer professional nutritional information based on their years of experience in helping pets and their owners overcome many dog food | dog allergy issues. Visit us for free articles on many dog related issues at www.411-for-dogs.com.

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